Bristol go into next weekend’s championship play-offs with the distinction of knowing they finished the regular season as top dogs, but possibly with the feeling that promotion is still a long way off and will not be finally settled until the end of next month.
Beating their nearest rivals Worcester means Bristol now have the dubious delight of hosting Rotherham, the Titans having something of a history of upping their game for the play-offs. Last season, they made life difficult for Bristol, and Andy Robinson’s side were equally uncomfortable in the regular season.
Worcester face London Scottish, who finished the season in third place, knowing that if they meet their West Country rivals for a third time this season they are likely to face a different and probably stronger opposition.
For a squad stacked with Test talent, Bristol came up the M5 with a mixture of academy graduates, a quartet returning from injury, even league debutants, plus a smattering of internationals. There was no sign of the expensively recruited British Lions such as Dwayne Peel, Gavin Henson or Ryan Jones, who were well out of harm’s way.
For a squad with just two in the sick bay – and that includes a fourth Lion, Ian Evans, who will not play again this season – it was a team that more reflected a once-strong rugby heartland than a side brandishing a billionaire’s cheque book. Not that that denied them ambition, and there was a more grounded feel about the side than when they tripped up in previous play-offs against Exeter, famously the Cornish Pirates, and London Welsh last season.
The game hinged on a disastrous 10 minutes for Worcester when their main attacking threat, Cooper Vuna, was sent to the sin bin, and from leading by 13 points Dean Ryan’s side were one point behind by the time the wing returned. Test full-back Chris Pennell also limped off. Vuna, who had just scored to open up the lead, went for an off-the-ball incident after an intervention by assistant referee Jonathan Healey, who also had a hand when Worcester’s former captain Jonathan Thomas went to the sin bin, 15 minutes later, for a high tackle.
The result was immediate. With Worcester down to 14 the Bristol scrum-half Tom Kessell put his centre Ben Mosses through the middle. When Charlie Amesbury scooted down the left Worcester had gone from leading 23-10 to being a point behind. With considerable restraint the Worcester director of rugby refused to talk about the officiating other than to say: “Thank god it was in this game and not in the play-offs.”
